YodaBlues:YouTube's streaming has gone down the shiatter the last few years.

This. I do believe they've got a "smart" system on their end that undercuts your bandwidth based on a simple test(which if tested during an unfortunate traffic spike it pretty much doesn't buffer at all), or just stops a video loading if you have it paused for X amount of time.(I tend to pause and then do other stuff to circumvent buffer issues, but they coded around that technique)

YodaBlues:Chrome is my main browser and I'm already using Html5, but it persists with flash as well. Trust me, I know how to test for these things, YouTube's streaming has gone down the shiatter the last few years.

I'm running into the same stuff. YouTube goes through these phases of suck and rebound. Hilariously, according to YouTube's speed tester, my bandwidth is insanely good. They just can't buffer a goddamn video to save their lives. HTML5 and Flash (though Flash tends to stutter, but that's because Flash sucks ass).

YodaBlues:UsikFark: YodaBlues: tgambitg: Now if only we could fix this:

[d22zlbw5ff7yk5.cloudfront.net image 425x343]

OH FARKING GOD, THIS!!!

I have 25Mbps FiOS at home and it seems like every other damn YouTube video will not load.

YouTube is the RealPlayer of this generation.

What kind of computer do you have? Also you can try youtube as HTML5, Link

A good one. :-) I'm a software developer and a gamer, so my PC specs are good enough. YouTube buffer problems are pervasive regardless of whether I'm on my htpc or gaming/Dev rig, home network or at work, nexus 7 or phone. It's YouTube, not my computers.

Chrome is my main browser and I'm already using Html5, but it persists with flash as well. Trust me, I know how to test for these things, YouTube's streaming has gone down the shiatter the last few years.

Not to sound obtuse, but sure your router ain't taking a steamy shiat on your streaming activities? I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

This. I do believe they've got a "smart" system on their end that undercuts your bandwidth based on a simple test(which if tested during an unfortunate traffic spike it pretty much doesn't buffer at all), or just stops a video loading if you have it paused for X amount of time.(I tend to pause and then do other stuff to circumvent buffer issues, but they coded around that technique)

NetFlix does this too, only buffers so much. Makes sense, keeps people from streaming video data if they are actively watching it.

t3knomanser:I'm running into the same stuff. YouTube goes through these phases of suck and rebound. Hilariously, according to YouTube's speed tester, my bandwidth is insanely good. They just can't buffer a goddamn video to save their lives. HTML5 and Flash (though Flash tends to stutter, but that's because Flash sucks ass).

Yep, run into this shiat all the time. Even better is when it sits there spinning the loading icon despite the fact the video is already fully streamed.

BumpInTheNight:I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

YouTube uses edge caching CDNs. Long story short: depending on where you live, you might have wildly different performance. Also, if you watch a lot of junk that isn't what's popular in your area, it won't be on the local CDN.

My personal experience: every streaming site works great, in full HD, but YouTube.

t3knomanser:BumpInTheNight: I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

YouTube uses edge caching CDNs. Long story short: depending on where you live, you might have wildly different performance. Also, if you watch a lot of junk that isn't what's popular in your area, it won't be on the local CDN.

My personal experience: every streaming site works great, in full HD, but YouTube.

BumpInTheNight:Not to sound obtuse, but sure your router ain't taking a steamy shiat on your streaming activities? I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

Yes, it's not my router, it's definitely YouTube. Happens regardless of what network I'm on, or where I'm at, work or home. You can run into one of these skippy videos and sometimes change the quality to lower or even HD and suddenly the load will load crazy fast. It has something to do with their initialization speed tests.

UsikFark:t3knomanser: BumpInTheNight: I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

YouTube uses edge caching CDNs. Long story short: depending on where you live, you might have wildly different performance. Also, if you watch a lot of junk that isn't what's popular in your area, it won't be on the local CDN.

My personal experience: every streaming site works great, in full HD, but YouTube.

My personal experience: every streaming site works great, in full HD, but YouTube.

Yep, it's the only site I've consistently run into problems with. Can stream Netflix HD and Amazon Prime HD without issue for the most part, but YouTube is generally a crapshoot. Used to live in the Poconos, PA and was on 10Mbps cable and still had problems, but that was a few years ago.

BumpInTheNight:Not to sound obtuse, but sure your router ain't taking a steamy shiat on your streaming activities? I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

While that is always a possibility, many big name sites perform throttles for seemingly arbitrary reasons. Can't say I'm knowledgable at all, but I've seen it on a number of different routers, even different ISP's(resident free tech guy in my family, so I get around). Sometimes when you connect you just get a shiatty download speed. Don't know if they're actually detecting your connection and relegating you to a low priority slot or what.

Just about any given person has seen this. Get an update from microsoft(or download from wherever), and it's inexplicably downloading at 35k, instead of the 300k you will typically get when maxed.(numbers are just a sample from my home connection, stupid rural DSL)

UsikFark:t3knomanser: BumpInTheNight: I just say that because at least in my region the streaming is stellar and consistent.

YouTube uses edge caching CDNs. Long story short: depending on where you live, you might have wildly different performance. Also, if you watch a lot of junk that isn't what's popular in your area, it won't be on the local CDN.

My personal experience: every streaming site works great, in full HD, but YouTube.

Dinjiin:BumpInTheNight: And all those little hardware devices currently being sold to watch things on or from the internet?

This is why I use a PC as my HTPC. Just need to upgrade to a new version of XMBC or MPC when H.265 becomes common.

On the non-PC front, I hope that we'll get a new version of ATSC here in North America that uses H.265 soon. I'm tired of the fact that Brazil has had a better TV format than the US for the majority of the past 40 years (first PAL-M vs. NTSC-M, then ISDB-Tb vs. ATSC). Oh, and include 64QAM/4PSK-COFDM in addition to 8VSB for low power intra-city SFN repeaters where multipath is a huge issue. Or fark, go for broke and bump up to 16VSB and 256QAM for OTA.

If adopted, it could likely change the availability of quality streaming content. A 35% reduction in bit rate is significant, along that it apparently supports UHDTV. It is also interesting that it completely replaces macroblock encoding using larger CTB, which I would think would look completely different at low rez than H.264/MPEG4 vid/images

BumpInTheNight:Neat but I'm not going to go through another round of ripping/transcoding my discs to shave a few TB off the storage needs, for new stuff this'll be great though. And all those little hardware devices currently being sold to watch things on or from the internet? Obsolete, all of them, bwahahahaha.

/yah I know the better ones can just update their software//you hope!

For things like cell phones and tablets, the chipset has DSPs that are hardware optimized for certain codecs. For HD resolution video, the ARM CPUs don't have the necessary horsepower to software decode, so you can't simply upgrade the software and get smooth playback. It'll take years until H.265 makes its way into popular ARM based chipsets, although CPU power is growing so rapidly on mobile chips that you might eventually see some third party aps that can software decode acceptably fast.

I think mad is the first to bring this up... what is the CPU processing needed compared to 264? The article really sucks as it says squat. However if I had to guess anything, the brunt of 265's magic will be in using 10 bit video instead of 8 bit. Currently it has been a fad of the fansub society to use a new feature of newer h264 codecs that allow for 10 bit encoding. I wouldn't say it allows you to cut the file size in half but most fansubs have been using it to offer much smaller versions of episodes, with 12 episodes peaking just over 1gb. There is a slight hit to quality over standard 300ish megabyte episodes, but it is a version released for those that prefer smaller downloads vs max quality.

It could be interesting though if it contains other optimizations that require as much of a cpu upgrade as 264 did vs old mpeg4. Good news is I would be pretty sure both xbox and ps3 could handle it. 3ghz multi threaded cpus is overkill for 264 so I am sure a 265 upgrade is no problem. As far as phones go... my guess is we will see multi threaded codecs designed for the quad core phones. MX player will probably be the first to do it.

JeffMD:As far as phones go... my guess is we will see multi threaded codecs designed for the quad core phones. MX player will probably be the first to do it.

Phones and tabets won't really be an issue. By the time this is widely rolled out, there will be DSPs that can do decoding and encoding on the fly built into the chipsets lie there is or H.264 currently. Even general purpose computers will have acceleration built into the GPU eventually (even low-end integrated GPUs like the Intel HD4000 have hardware accelerated H.264 decode these days).

YodaBlues:DarthBart: YodaBlues: DarthBart: Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

And yes I know some of those are containers rather than codecs.

Doesn't see a problem.

If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.

That's why I gave up on using an extender device like the PS3/Xbox or WD Live for streaming/watching downloaded videos. Either the codecs I was downloading were unsupported or the interface was a biatch to quickly navigate or I'd get audio/video sync problems etc etc. Last time I upgraded my gaming rig, just held onto my old hardware and turned it into the media server for the house plugged directly into the my HDTV. It's kind of a waste in some ways, but I works without fail for everything I throw at it. If you have a laptop, it's even easier, just go from the DVI/HDMI out to the tv.

Why don't you just use "Ps3 media server"? It transcodes any file format into a ps3 compatible format on the fly

SleepingEye:YodaBlues: DarthBart: YodaBlues: DarthBart: Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

And yes I know some of those are containers rather than codecs.

Doesn't see a problem.

If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.

That's why I gave up on using an extender device like the PS3/Xbox or WD Live for streaming/watching downloaded videos. Either the codecs I was downloading were unsupported or the interface was a biatch to quickly navigate or I'd get audio/video sync problems etc etc. Last time I upgraded my gaming rig, just held onto my old hardware and turned it into the media server for the house plugged directly into the my HDTV. It's kind of a waste in some ways, but I works without fail for everything I throw at it. If you have a laptop, it's even easier, just go from the DVI/HDMI out to the tv.

Why don't you just use "Ps3 media server"? It transcodes any file format into a ps3 compatible format on the fly

DarthBart:YodaBlues: DarthBart: Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

And yes I know some of those are containers rather than codecs.

Doesn't see a problem.

If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.

You're upset that your 6 year old console can't play the latest videos? I suggest you pick up a Raspberry Pi and a case for it; all the video decoding you need.

Most codecs support UHDTV. Both MPEG4 part 2 (DivX/Xdiv) and MPEG4 part 10 (H.264) officially support 3840×2160 at decode level 5. MPEG2 part 2 (H.262) probably has no problems with that resolution, either.

Big question is if you'd want to. H.265 can supposedly encode the same quality with 35% less bandwidth than H.264, 63% less bandwidth than MP4p2 and 70% less bandwidth than H.262 (src).

If those numbers are true, that's a huge gain in performance. Instead of having one HD + one SD subchannel like we usually have today, you could probably get away with three HD subchannels. If they used a more efficient D/A -> A/D (digital-to-analog-to-digital) technique like 12VSB (29Mbps) or 16VSB (38Mbps) instead of 8VSB (19Mbps), you could fit five or six HD subchannels or one UHD + one HD subchannel.

LavenderWolf:DarthBart: YodaBlues: DarthBart: Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

And yes I know some of those are containers rather than codecs.

Doesn't see a problem.

If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.

You're upset that your 6 year old console can't play the latest videos? I suggest you pick up a Raspberry Pi and a case for it; all the video decoding you need.

You're assuming I want another box in my entertainment center. Then I have to control it somehow, preferably by using my Logitech harmony remote. Then I'd need an hdmi switch since my tv has only one hdmi port. And that would have to be remotely controllably

As a rule the gains that were made will be eaten up almost immediately by users who will use that increased bandwidth capacity for other things. So, while this is cool, it won't make much difference except that it will prompt the ISPs to charge more for their service on the premise that people are using more bandwidth than they deem necessary.

LavenderWolf:DarthBart: YodaBlues: DarthBart: Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

And yes I know some of those are containers rather than codecs.

Doesn't see a problem.

If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.

You're upset that your 6 year old console can't play the latest videos? I suggest you pick up a Raspberry Pi and a case for it; all the video decoding you need.

Except for M2TSHad to mention that. I do love my Pi but I do see it's limitations. It isn't quite as snappy in skipping etc like a probper PC would be but I don't have to worry ever about a persistent drone of a fan in the background.

DarthBart:LavenderWolf: DarthBart: YodaBlues: DarthBart: Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

And yes I know some of those are containers rather than codecs.

Doesn't see a problem.

If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.

You're upset that your 6 year old console can't play the latest videos? I suggest you pick up a Raspberry Pi and a case for it; all the video decoding you need.

You're assuming I want another box in my entertainment center. Then I have to control it somehow, preferably by using my Logitech harmony remote. Then I'd need an hdmi switch since my tv has only one hdmi port. And that would have to be remotely controllably

All of the flavours of XBMC on PI can be controlled through HDMI using CEC, no remote needed. But yes you would need some kind of hdmi switch (time to upgrade to an HDMI Receiver??)

lordargent:Isn't the point of FIOS to have blazing speeds? At 25 mbps why even go through the hassle? Do the local cable companies suck?

Two Words: Time Warner.

SleepingEye:Why don't you just use "Ps3 media server"? It transcodes any file format into a ps3 compatible format on the fly

Sold my PS3 years ago. Even if I still had it, I never liked the interface for browsing and watching videos (I have 2 1TB drives of stuff) and while PS3 media server is neat, it doesn't work for every codec. Plus it would require me to either keep my the videos on my gaming rig or still maintain a separate media server. Just simpler to make a media server out of old hardware I already had after upgrading and connect it directly to my HDTV. I get the added benefit of being able to play PC games on my big screen when I choose as well.

Quite frankly the quality/size ratio for H264 already makes me believe in wizards. I'm going to be skeptical about H265 until I see it in action, particularly with some fast moving content in high contrast. If this really is the best thing since sliced bread, it'll make my job easier, which is good.

Mad_Radhu:JeffMD: As far as phones go... my guess is we will see multi threaded codecs designed for the quad core phones. MX player will probably be the first to do it.

Phones and tabets won't really be an issue. By the time this is widely rolled out, there will be DSPs that can do decoding and encoding on the fly built into the chipsets lie there is or H.264 currently. Even general purpose computers will have acceleration built into the GPU eventually (even low-end integrated GPUs like the Intel HD4000 have hardware accelerated H.264 decode these days).

As soon as the 265 codec is available, anime fansubs and movie pirates will be the first to utilize it and the effect will be immediate. Thanks to the wide acceptance and use of good containers like mp4 and mkv (When h264 was finally rolling out, it struggled with users sticking by their trusted .avi container and CPUs not powerful enough to decode it) we won't even need to update our players. We just need to install the codec, or a new version of FFDshow, and out current players will handle it no problem.

We won't see hardware DSP decoders for phones (that would of course, require buying a new phone) until almost a year after, and I am sure the first rounds of decoder chips will not be dirt cheap like todays 264 chips are. Soooo most phone A/V users will probably be using software decoding first.

This is great but won't really make a huge difference to me or many other HTPC users.

My current home setup consists of one desktop that is extremely powerful, running two monitors and connected to my home theater via an HDMI and an optical audio cord (this is due to a lack of any HDMI input on my older receiver) running XBMC on the TV. My office is on the other side of of the wall from my living room so I have no need for a separate HTPC yet. Even if I did I still only watch my media in the living room so if I was having issues with streaming the content my first solution would to to re-locate all my storage drives to my HTPC. This will only really make a huge difference for people with multiple HTPCS and a slow network. If you have enough money to have multiple HD displays and multiple HTPCs you should have enough money for more HDD storage and better network infrastructure as both of those things combined are cheaper than one HTPC or one HDTV.

I think it's mostly a software thing, however I wouldn't be surprised if chip makers optimize their hardware for the decoding/encoding process. This is called an Application-specific integrated circuit, and Intel's "Quick Sync Video," which supports H.262 and H.264. I don't think this comes into effect when you are watching a DVD, just when you are converting it to another format.

to clarify now none of my shiat will work when i steal a video off the internet and try to watch it on something other than a desktop with vlc, and even that won't be super-smooth

DarthBart:Oh great. Another codec of the week for the torrent basement jockeys to use. Download a file and roll th dice to see what combination of avi, mp4, xvid, divx, mkv, ogg, or other acronym they're using this month.

Something else my so called Smart TV probably won't play. I still can't believe it won't play AVI files. Every other format is fine, and I can transcode my avi files to an mkv container and they play just fine so it isn't a codec issue. I guess they were too cheap to license avi from Microsoft or something.

Fortunately next to nothing uses AVI anymore, I just have a lot of older videos.

That's funny, since Perian died last year and told everybody to use VLC or MPlayer.

DarthBart: I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers.

You can't just stream it from your PC to your PS3? I don't have a PS3, but I do have a little gadget that just mirrors my laptop screen, wirelessly, so I can stream anything over there, including Civ5.

//If framerates matter, I break out the 15' HDMI cable

And VLC is on Android. Although it appears to be a client to stream to from the desktop VLC. Go it installed but haven't messed with it yet.

DarthBart:Normally I do, but sometimes what I'm looking for isn't in a codec that my ps3 likes. And a couple of times as of late, I've grabbed collections of something and it was a mix of file formats.If I wanted to watch them on my PC, sure. I watch things via my ps3 and it is very picky about codecs and containers. The dlna server I use has support for on-the-fly transcoding but the server it runs on isn't fast enough for it.